"set top" articles

The use of streaming video services continues to rise, and people are viewing streaming video entertainment with the expectation that they can access their content whenever, wherever, and on whatever device they want. The increasing diversity of devices on which streaming video is consumed presents a rising challenge within the streaming video ecosystem.  55% of US broadband households now own a smart TV. 58% of those households use the smart TV as the device they access most...

Speaking from an entertainment focus at CES, nearly everyone I met with talked about being able to provide a single, unified interface for all the video products and services that consumers are using. And when you think about it, it makes complete sense why that is such a big deal. We have reached the point where using two or more video services is becoming the norm rather than the exception to a rule, and because users have to sort through the several different services they use to...

Over 45% of U.S. pay-TV subscribers find cloud DVR technology very appealing, according to new research from Parks Associates . The report, Cloud DVR: The New Face of Television , reveals that consumers show particular interest in unlimited storage space and two-week catch-up services for video. Other key highlights from the report include: More than 40% of broadband households in the United States and United Kingdom and over 30% of broadband households in...

Parks Associates : Could you tell me about the changing role and revenue potential of connected CE? Barbara Kraus : Connected CE, until a few years ago, simply meant a hardware device that could connect to the Internet, and manufacturers made their money from unit sales. Now, with connections and the ability to stream video and music to your TV, manufacturers have several opportunities for new revenue streams, such as advertising, content promotion, content placement, and even...

Research released by Parks Associates this week shows that 86% of Roku owners compared to 77% of Apple TV owners use a subscription OTT service of any kind. Additionally, 75% percent of Roku owners use Netflix, while 63% of Apple TV owners use it. This research will be a key aspect in Parks Associates' participation in the 2014 NAB Show, where the research firm is hosting two Disruptive Media Conference Sessions. Brett Sappington, Director of Research for Parks Associates, will...

News from the Wall Street Journal that Amazon is making content inquiries about licensing of linear channels for a streaming pay-TV service shouldn’t be a big surprise. After all, what player in the connected CE and online video space hasn’t looked into that possibility recently? (Content providers must be absolutely giddy about everyone coming out of the woodwork to ask about content licensing.) While Intel and others have tested the waters recently (with Intel finding them...

The FCC has granted TiVo the right to sell more digital-only devices. TiVo was granted a waiver of the FCC's analog tuner requirement after TiVo argued that requiring an analog tuner in set-tops increased power consumption and price to little net consumer effect.  TiVo also argued the waiver would help further the FCC's policy of promoting device compatibility since its DVRs are compatible with digital cable service. There is already a TV set analog tuner mandate in...

By Ruby-Ren Dennis Almost every TV provider, both cable and satellite, have some kind of companion app. Some of them are just a convenient way to pay bills and stay in touch. However, along with the bill-pay apps, are mobile TV, DVR, and remote control apps. In several countries, the universal remote control app features prominently. Both KT (Korea) and Telstra (Australia) have demonstrational videos featuring attractive young women sitting on their couches explaining how...